First press conference of 19th CPC National Congress

Wednesday,Oct 18, 2017

From: CGTN

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will map out overall reform measures concerning the country’s political system and other areas, Tuo Zhen, the spokesperson for the 19th CPC National Congress said Tuesday, while introducing the agenda of the upcoming Party Congress, as well as the preparatory work conducted beforehand.

2,280 delegates chosen from a group of nearly 89 million Party members across the nation will attend the 19th CPC National Congress, which is set to convene on October 18 in Beijing.

Women make up 24.2 percent of the delegates, while people belonging to ethnic minorities account for 11.5 percent, representing a moderate increase compared to the 18th Party Congress.

The agenda

The preparatory meeting of the 19th CPC National Congress, chaired by Xi Jinping, CPC General Secretary and Chinese President, was held on Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Tuo Zhen explained that the meeting set the main agenda for the upcoming Party Congress, which will include:

-- Hearing and reviewing a report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee;

-- Reviewing a work report of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection;

During the preparatory meeting, Liu Yunshan was appointed secretary general of the 19th CPC National Congress, and delegates decided on a 22-member credentials committee and a 243-member presidium of the upcoming Congress.

Political Report by the 18th CPC Central Committee

According to Tuo, one of the most important items on the Congress’ agenda will be the hearing and reviewing of the report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee.

The opinions of more than 4,700 people, including delegates to the Party’s 18th National Congress and newly-elected delegates to its 19th National Congress, have been solicited on the draft report, which will be submitted to the upcoming Congress.

Xi Jinping has also held six symposiums to hear the opinions and suggestions of people from various sectors on the draft report.

The report, along with a CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection work report and an amendment to the Party Constitution, will be submitted for deliberation at the week-long Congress.

Amending the Party Constitution

Another major event on the agenda for the upcoming Party Congress will be an amendment to the Party Constitution to better represent new governance concepts, thoughts and strategies proposed by the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, according to Tuo.

The amendment will include key theories and strategic thoughts, and will be presented in a report that will be delivered at the congress, Tuo said.

Electing a new central leadership

Following the conclusion of the 19th CPC National Congress, a new central leadership will be elected at the first plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC.

After the plenary session, members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee will meet Chinese and foreign journalists, confirmed Tuo Zhen.

Tuo also took questions from domestic and foreign reporters on some of the major issues up for discussion at the upcoming congress, including China’s economy, progress in poverty alleviation, the anti-corruption campaign, the country’s goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 and China’s role in global economic governance.

A total number of 3,068 Chinese and foreign journalists will report on the 19th CPC National Congress, including 1,818 journalists from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and abroad. The number of registered journalists from overseas far exceeds that of the congress five years ago.

Stark differences between the United States and China were on display at last Friday’s dialogue between their defence chiefs and top diplomats, but the meeting still raised hopes among Chinese experts that both sides would be able to progress in solving deep-rooted trade issues.

As domestic talents flow to these major cities, the first-tier cities face a different task of attracting talent with an international perspective as China carries out the Belt and Road Initiative and moves ahead in economic globalization, said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), one of China’s leading independent think tanks.

Over the last few years, Chinese firms have experienced a string of setbacks in various overseas investment projects including a high-speed rail in Mexico, the Colombo Port City Project, a China-Thailand railway project and, the latest, the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. The reasons behind these setbacks are complex, but can be categorized into three aspects.

CGTN’s Wang Xiaonan (CGTN) interviewed Wang Huiyao (Wang), founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and counselor of China’s State Council, on how these past and present developments help shape the future of China’s talent landscape.